Parental Leave for Full-Time Faculty and Senior Lecturers
Policy
For a full-time faculty member or senior lecturer following the birth or adoption of a child, the University allows, without regard to the start date of employment, the faculty member or senior lecturer to have up to twelve (12) weeks of paid leave and to reduce the total annual teaching load if that load is at least three full courses. Parental leave is also designated as leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), if applicable. For more information about Family and Medical Leave, see the FMLA Policy.
Procedure for Full-time Faculty and Senior Lecturers
The faculty member or senior lecturer may request up to 12 weeks of paid leave as well as course relief. If the faculty member or senior lecturer’s annual course load at the time of the request is between three and five full courses per year, one course may be relieved; if six or more full courses per year, two courses may be relieved. No further course reduction is available under this policy. Courses that the eligible faculty member or senior lecturer is scheduled to teach during the period in which the leave falls are not excused by the leave itself and must be rescheduled in consultation with the germane academic leader (section chief, collegiate master, department chair, institute director or dean), or be part of the applicable course relief.
A leave that is anticipated to begin soon after the start of a quarter effectively precludes an instructor from accepting classroom teaching duties during that quarter. A leave that is anticipated to end after a quarter concludes effectively precludes a resumption of classroom teaching duties until the start of the following quarter in residence. In those circumstances, the faculty member or senior lecturer and the germane academic leader need to review the teaching schedule and plan carefully because it may not be possible (or consonant with the interests of students) for the faculty member to begin teaching or return to teaching in synch with a quarter even though the faculty member returns to work from parental leave.
The faculty member or senior lecturer should discuss leave and course reduction plans with the germane academic leader a minimum of three months before the proposed leave or course reduction in order to permit time for review and approval of the requested arrangement. Parental leave also requires the prior approval of the office of the director or dean and the approval of the Office of the Provost.
All leaves and course reductions must be taken within one year following the birth or adoption of the child. A faculty member or senior lecturer preferring to take a leave without course reduction, a course reduction without leave, or only one course reduction even if two are available may do so, which may require the rescheduling of a course.
Where both parents are University employees, each may take parental leave for which they are eligible in accord with the applicable policy. Parents in the same academic unit or program of study should plan the sequencing of their leaves and course reductions in consultation with the germane academic leader.
Because a faculty member on parental leave is not expected or required to do work other than responding briefly to their graduate students, the weeks of parental leave do not count toward the in-residence time that determines eligibility for an academic leave.